Chief Minister Fellowship Programme 2025–26 AnnouncedOpportunity for Youth to Work with the Administration; Sixty Fellows to be Selected

Mumbai : To enable the youth of the state to gain experience of working with the administration and to help broaden their knowledge and experience, and to harness the creativity, unique thinking abilities, enthusiasm, and technological interests of the youth for administrative purposes — thereby bringing dynamism into the administrative processes — the ‘Chief Minister Fellowship Programme 2025–26’, conceptualized by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, has been announced. As per the programme, 60 fellows will be selected.

The criteria for selection of fellows, terms and conditions of appointment, and the structure and implementation of the academic programme through educational institutions have been made available on the website of the Government of Maharashtra.

This programme was started during the first tenure of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and was implemented successfully.

After the successful implementation of the programme for the period 2023–24, the programme has now been announced for 2025–26.

This programme will be implemented through the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of the Planning Department.

Selection Criteria for Fellows:
The applicant must be an Indian citizen.
Educational Qualification: Graduate from any stream (minimum 60% marks required).
Experience: Minimum one year of full-time work experience is required. For students of professional courses, a one-year full-time internship/apprenticeship/article-ship as part of their course is required. Full-time self-employment and entrepreneurial experience will also be considered. The applicant must submit a self-declaration in this regard.
Language and Computer Skills: Must be able to read, write, and speak Marathi. Adequate knowledge of Hindi and English is necessary. Also, knowledge of computer operations and the internet is essential.
Age Limit: On the last date of application, the candidate should be a minimum of 21 years and a maximum of 26 years old.

Applications must be submitted via the online application system prescribed by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics.

Application Fee: ₹500. The number of fellows for this programme is fixed at 60, out of which one-third will be women fellows. If one-third women fellows are not available, male fellows will be selected instead. The status of the fellows will be equivalent to Group-A officers in government service.

Selection Process: Candidates applying for the fellowship must submit an online application and pay the online examination fee. Also, during the online application process, it is mandatory to provide an Aadhaar card or another ID proof. Candidates who pay the examination fee will have to appear for an Online Objective Test.

The process for the online examination will be announced on the Directorate’s website [mahades.maharashtra.gov.in], and candidates must follow the stated terms and conditions. Fellows who have previously participated in the Chief Minister Fellowship Programme will not be eligible to apply again and must mention this in their application.

Around 210 candidates scoring the highest marks in the objective test will have to submit an online essay on a prescribed topic within the specified time on the given date. These 210 candidates will then be interviewed in Mumbai.

According to the requirements, selected fellows will be placed in groups of two to three in each of the selected 20 districts. One fellow from the group will work under the District Collector, and one or two will work under the Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Parishad.

Fellowship appointments will be for a period of 12 months only. There will be no extension. The appointment will automatically end 12 months from the date of joining.

Selected fellows will be given a monthly stipend of ₹56,100 and a travel allowance of ₹5,400, totaling ₹61,500 per month in the form of a scholarship.

The academic programme will be an integral part of the fellowship. A postgraduate certificate course in Public Policy will be organized for the selected fellows in collaboration with IIT Bombay. Offline and online lectures will be conducted on various subjects that will help fellows during their postings. Offline lectures will be conducted at the beginning of the fellowship for two weeks, after six months for one week, and at the end for another week at IIT Bombay. In addition, online lectures will be organized on Saturdays, Sundays, or public holidays throughout the year as per the programme’s needs. Attendance for both online and offline lectures will be mandatory for fellows.

The objective of the programme is to equip fellows with appropriate tools and scientific methods to work for public welfare and formulate policies, and to enhance the knowledge, skills, and capabilities required for implementing development programmes.

After successful completion of the postgraduate certificate course, fellows will receive a certificate from the concerned institution. To receive a certificate of successful completion of the fellowship from the government, fellows must successfully complete both the fieldwork with the designated office/authority and the academic programme during the fellowship period.

Apart from the academic programme, other activities such as orientation sessions, visits to various social organizations, interactions with dignitaries, and certificate distribution events will be organized throughout the year.